The present invention pertains generally to trailer construction and particularly to that type of construction providing a retractable roof to facilitate towing.
Owners of motor homes commonly tow a small automobile behind the motor home for use when the motor home is being used as a residence. The towed vehicle paint and glass is subject to damage as a result of being towed. Further, dollies are often used for supporting the automobile's front wheels with the rear wheels in road contact. Depending on the vehicle transmission drive train such a practice is limited to front wheel drive vehicles as damage could result from such towing to a vehicle having a rear wheel drive system. Still further, the dollies used for the towing of an automobile behind a motor home are of use only for that one purpose.
The wide use of motor homes for semipermanent residences is now commonplace with people utilizing their motor homes for several weeks or months at a time each year as a temporary residence. As space within a motor home is limited the owner is restricted in the various types of recreational gear or items he or she may take to the semipermanent location. For example, individuals utilizing motor homes as semipermanent residences often pursue hobbies such as carpentry or rock hounding which normally require a work shop. Without a auxiliary area the individual must forego usual hobbies or business endeavors in view of the lack of space.
The concept of a truck trailer with a vertically adjustable roof is not new as evidenced by U.S. Pat. No. 2,821,428 wherein a truck trailer includes a vertically adjustable upper portion and a double set of rearwardly opening doors. A second U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,281 discloses a truck trailer for auto transport having a vertically adjustable roof portion while U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,360,294 and 4,328,989 disclose roofs for pickup truck cargo beds which roofs may be vertically positioned. U.S. Pat. No. 2,797,124 discloses a truck trailer having an adjustable roof as does U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,860 which utilizes pneumatic jacks for raising and lowering a roof.